New York City born drummer Richie Morales is a versatile player whose credits range from the seminal jazz fusion of the Brecker Brothers, the Latin jazz of Gato Barbieri, Ray Barretto and Dave Valentin, to the more traditional sounds of Dave Brubeck and the late Herbie Mann.



Richie Morales has performed and recorded with such contemporary artists as the late Grover Washington Jr., Stevie Wonder, Carly Simon, Dianne Reeves, and the Mike Stern Group, George Russell's Living Time Orchestra, as well as the Al DiMeola Electric Project, and saxophonist Bill Evans. Richie's performance on saxophonist Gato Barbieri's latest release "Shadow of the Cat" helped garner a "Best Latin Jazz Album of The Year" award from Billboard magazine's 2003 Latin Music Awards, and a Latin Grammy nomination in the same category as well.



Richie has recently been touring in Europe with the George Russell Living Time Orchestra in support of his latest release “The 80th Birthday concert”. Other artists Richie has performed with in 2005 include Jason Miles, Kim Waters, Walter Beasley, and Paul Jackson Jr.



For many years, Richie Morales was best known as the percussive force behind the perennial chart topping group Spyro Gyra, composing as well as drumming for the group. Richie also leads his own group, performing a mixture of jazz standards and original compositions reflecting his diverse musical background.



As an educator with an M.F.A. degree in Studio Composition, Richie Morales is a member of the jazz faculty at Purchase College Conservatory of Music S.U.N.Y. He has also taught at the Juilliard School’s Music Advancement Program, and is a clinician for Yamaha drums and Zildjian cymbals.